Can stress cause your tsh to rise?

[Diane17884]

Hi everyone 😊

Wondering if anyone can shed any light on why my TSH may go up.

My july results on 50mg levo were

TSH 5.6 (0.2-4.5)

FT4 12 (9-21)

My doctor increased to 75mg 6 weeks ago and had my bloods retested yesterday. I got my new results today which are

TSH 13.2 (0.2-4.5)

FT4 13 (9-21)

I have been under a lot of stress and emotional upset as sadly my brother died just over 3 weeks ago. Im wondering what might cause my levels to increase? Can stress/upset have an impact? The doctor has increased my dose to 100mg now so hopefully that will help, but just concerned about why such a big jump.

All my previous results are on my profile if it helps.

Thanks in advance

Diane 💕 x

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Diane

You have Hashi's, so I would guess this may be typical of antibody activities causing fluctuations in results (and maybe symptoms). I don't have Hashi's so maybe someone who does can offer a better response.

[Diane17884 in reply to SeasideSusie]

Hi seasidesusie,

Thank you for taking the time to reply. I guess that makes sense and I know stress can be a major trigger. I'm not feeling any worse or better than I was I don't think 🤷‍♀️ Things have been going in right direction with my bloods so was a bit of a surprise today x

[FancyPants54 in reply to Diane17884]

25 - 50mcg caused that to happen to me too. TSH went up. I think it did it again up to 75mcg. But 75-100 halted the progress. I retest 100 on Monday and am interested to see what has happened this time. Still feel pretty shattered and unwell so not expecting miracles.

I don't seem to have much to blame it on either. But I did wonder if my own thyroid just shut it's production off a bit more each time I increased the dose and that caused it. No idea really. Stress probably does use up your hormone supply more than day to day living.

[Diane17884 in reply to FancyPants54]

Hi fancypants,

Mine was going down every increase now its shot up again which I can only assume may be stress as nothing else has changed. Guess I will just need to wait and see. I've got Bloods again in 6 weeks. Hopefully just a little blip 🤷‍♀️ Thanks hun x

[Oldlady123]

Hi Diane, so sorry to hear of your loss, I too lost a brother and I understand the pain it causes. On a lesser note, I had my purse stolen a couple of weeks ago, the stress from that started me vomiting that night and I couldn't stop until I had to visit a&e for injections and fluids. I have never had these extreme reactions to stress until my thyroid stopped working properly, having most of my life being able to laugh and cope through most crises. I find when I have a high TSH reading it lessens my coping mechanism and I react badly to stress. I have just been given a higher dose of Levo so hopefully be back to my normal bubbly self. I think something like yoga or mindfulness classes might help future stress moments. Hang in there love, your grief will lessen in time xx

[Diane17884 in reply to Oldlady123]

Hi oldlady,

Thank you, I too am sorry for your loss. Such a difficult thing to go through 🤗 Gosh that's awful 😢 you poor thing. An awful world we live in sometimes. Hope your feeling better soon. I'm the same I don't cope with stressful situations very well at the moment. I do relaxation/meditation nightly and have been going some nice peaceful walks and appreciating nature as a way to relax. Maybe our body uses more hormone in stressful times. Is the only thing I can think of that's changed in my routine and medication.

Take care and be kind to yourself I'm sure you will start feeling better again soon 💕 x

[Oldlady123 in reply to Diane17884]

Thank you Diane, I am on the mend, always remember we do get there in the end, and we deal with it with correct medication and the love of friends and family. You have a good regime in place to help cope with everything, give yourself credit for that, and don't expect too much too soon X